pococurante

Pronounced: POH-koh-kyuh-RAHN-tee, adj

Notes: This word isn’t one that I know

Yesterday’s word

The word dreadnought has multiple meanings

  • a fearless person
  • a battleship armed with all heavy guns
  • a thick cloth
  • a warm garment made of thick cloth
  • a type of acoustic guitar with a large body and loud sound
First usage

This word goes back to the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

I only knew the second meaning (how about you?) The word literally means “fear nothing” because it is composed of dread (fear) and nought (nothing). The word nought (also naught) comes from na (no) and wiht (thing). The first meaning comes from a 1573 English ship “Dreadnought”. The second and last meaning comes from a 1906 battleship, “HMS Dreadnought”, known for its heavy guns. The other two meanings come from the heavy garments worn on ships to protect from the elements.

dreadnought

Pronounced: DRED-not

Notes: This word has several varied definition; I only knew one of them. How many do you know?

Yesterday’s phrase

An Augean stable is “a condition or place marked by great accumulation of filth or corruption”

First usage

It looks like this phrase came into English in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

When I was in late grade school and high school, I had an interest in Greek and Roman mythology, so I knew that one of the twelve labors of Hercules was to clean the “Augean stables”. They belonged to a king who kept 3,000 oxen, and they not been cleaned for decades (truly a Herculean task). Hercules accomplished the task by diverting a river to run through them. I wasn’t aware that the phrase had come into English with the meaning — the “corruption” part seems to be an extension to the idea of great filth. Note that the word Augean is a word in its own right, meaning “very difficult (usually distasteful)”, thus “Augean task” or “Augean assignment”.

Augean stable

Pronounced: aw-JEE-uhn stable, noun

Notes: I know the reference, but not the actual meaning

Yesterday’s word

The word trencherman is

  • a hearty eater
  • a hanger-on; parasite
First usage

This word showed up in the late 1500s

Background / Comments

The word comes from trencher (a flat piece of wood on which food is served or carved); this word comes from Old French trenchier (to cut), which came from Latin truncare (to lop). I was aware of the first definition from my reading, but I wasn’t aware of the second definition.

trencherman

Pronounced: TREN-chur-man, noun

Notes: I ran across this word in some reading, but I don’t think it’s very well known

Yesterday’s word

The word eleemosynary means “of, relating to, or supported by charity”

First usage

The word came into English in the early 1600s

Background / Comments

This is a fancy word for “charitable” (which is much easier to spell). Our word comes from the Latin word eleemosyna. In early England, the word was shortened to œlmes, which was used for “charity”. This became the word “alms”, which refers to food or money given to the poor. The full word came into English as noted above.

eleemosynary

Pronounced: eh-lih-MAH-suh-ner-ee, adj

Notes: I think I’ve run across this word in my reading… it’s a good one to read

Yesterday’s word

The word whipjack means “a beggar who pretends to be an out-of-luck sailor”

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1500s

Background / Comments

It is thought that the word comes from whip (to flog) and jack (man; worker). Even if that is true, I don’t see how this origin came to its meaning.

whipjack

Pronounced: WHIP-jack, noun

Notes: I don’t think I’ve ever run across this word

Yesterday’s word

The word arcanum means

  • mysterious or specialized knowledge, language, or information accessible or possessed only by the initiate (usually used in plural)
  • elixir
First usage

This word goes back to the late-1500s

Background / Comments

This word is more frequently seen in its plural form (arcana). It comes from the Latin word arcanus (secret). At the time this word entered English, the mysteries of the physical and spiritual worlds were subjects of heavy scrutiny and rethinking. Alchemists pursued the arcana of nature, seeking elixirs to change base metals into gold. This sense has influenced the second meaning.

arcanum

Pronounced: ar-KAY-num, noun

Notes: You may know this word; the plural may be more well-known

Yesterday’s word

The word azymous means “unleavened; unfermented”

First usage

This word goes back to the mid-1700s

Background / Comments

As I noted yesterday, this word is one that Christians and Jews may know: the Jewish feat of Passover is eaten with unleavened bread, and the Christian ceremony called “The Lord’s Supper” (also “Communion” and “Eucharist”) likewise uses unleavened bread. While many churches use wine at this ceremony, others use completely azymous elements, including the juice. I find it interesting that in every gospel passage that talks about Jesus instituting this ceremony, the drink is always called “the fruit of the vine”. This word comes to English from the Latin word azymous (unleavened, uncorrupted). The Latin word comes from Greek azumos (unleavened), which is made up of a- (not) and zumos (leaven).

azymous

Pronounced: ay-ZIGH-muss, adj

Notes: Nice, fancy word for something that Christians and Jews know well

Yesterday’s word

The word phosphene is “a luminous impression due to the excitation of the retina” — the shapes of light you see if you close your eyes and press on them with your fingers.

First usage

This word showed up in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

The word is a combination of two Greek words: phōs (light) and phainein (to show).

phosphene

Pronounced: FAHS-feen, noun

Notes: A word for something most of us know; I didn’t know there was a word for it.

Yesterday’s word

The word vaquero means “a livestock handler; cowboy”

First usage

The word came back into English in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

Today’s word is from the Spanish word vaquero (cowboy), which is in turn based on vaca (cow).

vaquero

Pronounced: vah-KER-oh, noun

Notes: I was a little off on this word

Yesterday’s word

The word fatidic means “of or relating to prophecy”

First usage

This word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

This word has an interesting double reference. First of all, it comes from the Latin word fatum (fate), making our word related to “fate”, which comes from the same word. The literal meaning of fatum is “what has been spoken” — the belief of the ancients was that one’s fate was completely in the hands of the gods. The second part of our word is dicere (to say), which is the same root for “predict”.